who knows...

June 26^th 11:13pm

 

Today was my first full day in Gulu and we finally went out into the town and experienced what it was like to interact with the locals and experience Northern Uganda in it’s purest form. Today we woke up to breakfast that Sister Appelonia and the nuns put out for us. I can’t express how amazing it is to wake up to fresh pineapple and Mandazi, fresh bread and butter.

 

After breakfast around 8:30 we got into the back of our truck and were driven the very bumpy 10 minute ride to the invisible children house in the middle of town. When we got there we were given a very good intro into what invisible children does in Gulu by the PR chair Kelly. I was definitely shocked by the extent of their work and how deep this program goes into trying to help Nrthern Uganda reach a sustainable way of life. The organization does everything from partnering teachers from the states with schools in Northern Uganda, to creating microeconomic projects for the people in IDP camps to help them create their own incomes and to help them move home eventually.

 

After the PR talk we were given a language lesson by Dennis, a Acholi man who works with invisible children. I was so overwhelmed by the accents and all of the new words that I need to learn, but just like French I think I have to just go into town and give it a try. So far the words that I’ve used in town are Apoyo and Ko Pen Go, which mean hello and what’s up.

 

All of us went over to a buffet in town for lunch, and the fact that I can drink cold Fanta is pretty amazing. I definitely still have to get used to the food because there are a lot of beans and potatoes over here and the food sits really heavy in my stomach. The restaurant was very open and airy and we all got to sit at a table together. After lunch we went back to the IC house and had a discussion about the affects of colonization on Uganda. The speaker Dennis was so dynamic it was hard to take my eyes off of him. I think the most important concept that I took away from the discussion was that colonization is dependent on perspective.  Dennis, the speaker, said that he personally is torn on the topic because he sees the benefits that colonization has had on education, but at the same time some of the Acholi people are in fact losing their identities by thinking that the western way of thinking is the “right” way. Some of the Acholi people in town go by “Christian” names that they picked, and some of them are names like Bill Clinton, Abraham Lincoln, and even 50 cent. What I love about IC is that they are intent on keeping the Acholi people’s traditions intact, while improving education as much as they can.